The Team Behind Elevate
Elevate is built on relationships — advisor to advisor, advisor to client, generation to generation. Meet the people who make that possible.
Founder & CEO
Founder & CEO · Elevate Financial Group
Mark Critchlow is the Founder and CEO of Elevate Financial Group, with decades of experience in financial planning and advisory services. Mark built Elevate around a singular belief: that the best outcomes for clients happen when advisors are free to focus on what they do best.
He developed the Elevate partnership model to solve the industry's most persistent structural problems — succession, next-gen support, and capacity — in one integrated framework. Mark's philosophy centers on legacy: building practices that outlast any individual advisor, where clients and their families are protected for generations.
"It's about the life of the client,
not the life of the advisor."
Every advisor in the Elevate network brings deep expertise and a genuine commitment to the clients they serve.
Mark Critchlow
President & Wealth Adviser
Betsy O'Reilly Pate, LUTCF
Wealth Adviser
Jhereg "Jay" Fillmore
Investment Manager
Tom Colson
Wealth Adviser
Gray Breeden
Wealth Adviser
David Hays
Wealth Adviser
Michael J. Colb
Financial Professional
Chuck Taylor
CPA & Wealth Adviser
Clay Mills
Support Adviser
Mark Hale, LUTCF
Wealth Adviser · Roanoke
Macon Hale
Client Services Representative · Roanoke
Nick Hale
Client Services Representative · Roanoke
Matt Hale
Client Services Representative · Colonial Heights
In Memoriam
Honoring colleagues whose contributions shaped our practice.
Vincent James Tosco, III
Agent Emeritus
In Memoriam · 2025
The team behind the team — dedicated professionals who keep every practice running smoothly so advisors can focus on clients.
Joe Nicholson
VP of Operational Strategy
Staci Hartman
Office Assistant
Katelyn Bendinsky
Staff Accountant
Lexi Martin
Client Services Associate
Anne Miller
Office Assistant
Melissa Miller
Office Assistant
Most advisory practices have no formal succession plan. At Elevate, continuity isn't a feature — it's a foundational commitment written into every partnership from day one. Your clients are protected. Your legacy is preserved. Whatever happens.
Every advisor who joins the Elevate network enters with a documented successor already in place. No scrambling, no uncertainty for clients, no open-ended transition. The plan exists before it's ever needed.
Every partnership agreement includes formal continuity terms. In the event of disability, illness, or death, clients are protected by a binding plan — not a verbal understanding. The documentation matches the commitment.
When something changes, clients experience the same team, the same strategy, and the same commitment they were promised. Elevate's structure ensures no client is ever left without guidance at the moments they need it most.
More than a firm — a team that shows up for one another and for the clients we serve.
